Lacrosse Headline

During
the last week in July, Mary-Sean Wilcox ran up-and-down a worn patch of
land, used by the locals as an athletic field. Avoiding the occasional hole in
the ground and shards of broken glass that littered the area, the Gators junior
goalkeeper scooped-up ground balls and dished assists to the players around her,
all while communicating with teammates that didn’t speak the same language.

Instead
of spending one of the last weeks of her summer vacation at her home in
Lutherville, Maryland, Wilcox traveled to Nicaragua as part of a service trip
led by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). Over the course of the week,
Wilcox and other Division 1 lacrosse players from around the country spent
their time teaching the game of lacrosse to children.

“We
partnered with the organization Lacrosse the Nations and brought down a
bunch of sticks and other equipment,” said Wilcox. “I was quite surprised how
good the kids were. They put their own spin on the game which was great to
see.”

Lacrosse
the Nations, an organization founded by a pair of former collegiate lacrosse
players, Brand Corrigan and Brett Hughes, utilize lacrosse as a platform to
teach kids valuable life skills and health education.

The
organization has programs set up in Nicaragua, Costa Rica and in multiple
states across the U.S. Wilcox mainly served at two different sites while on the
trip, splitting time between the cities Chiquilistagua and La Chureca.

“We
worked at a public school in Chiquilistagua that ranged from elementary to high
school kids,” said Wilcox. “While there, we put together some drills, played
games and just made connections with the kids.”

After
the team finished hanging out with the kids from the school, the group traveled
about an hour to La Chureca, where an after school program called Club Hope was
held. Club Hope was run by Lacrosse the Nations and taught kids valuable life
lessons through the game of lacrosse, according to Wilcox.

Wilcox
said that although she couldn’t speak Spanish, she learned to bond and
communicate with the kids in a different way.

“I
didn’t know many words when I got there, but the kids loved affection, and
would constantly want us to carry them on our shoulders and give them big
hugs,” she said. “They loved it, and you could tell they enjoyed us being
there.”

In
addition to the field not being what she was used to playing on, the kids
taught her the “Nicaraguan way” to play lacrosse.

“When
we played, they would bounce the ball through our legs, then run around us and
grab the ball,” said the Florida goalkeeper. “We weren’t ready for it; it was
cool to see some new things they brought to the game that we could take home
with us.”

Seventeen
percent of the population in Nicaragua lives in extreme poverty, forcing the
kids to adapt and play a modified game of lacrosse with just a stick and a
tennis ball – something Wilcox hopes to see change in the near future.

“Despite
not having much, they cherished everything they owned,” Wilcox said. “When they
get a stick, it’s the biggest thing to them.”

As
she begins to prepare for the 2015 season and dons the Orange and Blue on the
freshly trimmed grass at Donald R. Dizney Stadium, Wilcox won’t forget the
glass-filled field in Nicaragua and the kids of La Chureca.

“[The
kids] made me appreciate everything I have,” she said. “I would love to be able
to provide them with more equipment because we Americans have so much.”